Nathaniel Phipps earned his B.S. and M.A. from New York University C.A.S. Hunter College. He studied classical piano with Rodger Boardman and Modena Scovill. Prof. Phipps was a vocal and instrumental teacher in the New York City high schools for nineteen years. He was one of the first public school music teachers in NYC to use the Wurlitzer Electric Piano Lab in a special education high school program. He was a teacher trainer at Fordham University for the Fordham Advocate Community Teacher training program (FACT).
Prof. Phipps organized a jazz/rock band at Sterling High School known as the Sterling Average Teenage Band (SATB) which performed in several NYC and state Very Special Arts festivals. The band also represented New York State in the national Very Special Arts festivals held in Niagara Falls and Washington, DC. The SATB also appeared on the Today Show hosted by Tom Brokaw, performed at the Kennedy Center, and offered many performances in the NYC special schools and the Newark, NJ, public schools.
Prof. Phipps was named New York State Teacher of the Year in 1976 for his accomplishments as an instrumental, vocal, and classroom music teacher. He served as Associate in Music Education as well as the Bureau Chief for Arts and Music Education for the New York State Education Department. He has taught African American Music and Jazz Improvisation at Schenectady County Community College. He is S.E.D. Consultant for the Skidmore College Summer Jazz Institute.
Previously, Prof. Phipps was the leader of a jazz big band in Newark, NJ, whose sidemen included Wayne Shorter, Chris White, Grashon Moncur III, Tom McIntosh, Bobby Thomas, and Woody Shaw. He has played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Booker Irving, George Benson, and other jazz luminaries. He has accompanied Little Jimmy Scott, Al Hibler, and Betty Bebop Carter. Prof. Phipps has recorded on Cool and Savoy labels. And, he has arranged vocal and instrumental backgrounds for pop/rock groups including John Lester’s recording Getting Nearer.